Clamping fixture



Nov. 6, 1951 v. L. WALKER CLAMPING F' IXTURE Filed Dec. 15, 1947 Patented Nov. 6, 1951 GLAMPING FIXTURE Vernon L. Walker, Detroit, Mich., assigner to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a'

corporation of Delaware ApplcationDecember 13, 1947, Serial No..791,193

4-Gl'aims. 1

This invention relates to a xture in which partsV for particular purposes.r may be supported. for fabrication. Parts for similar functions or' use in similar' portions of mechanisms are in most instances, almost identical. but not exactly the same. Dii'erent manufacturers utilize different manners of securing parts. together or ofL mounting similar parts; which necessitater minor changes,` and' therefore in the service` eld one must carry a relatively" large stock' ofV similar parts in orderto.. have one on hand that might be needed. As illustrative only, and` in no way to be considered aslimiting; my inventiomin the radio receiver elol there are provided a plurality of' control shafts which are rotatably secured; to the receiver chassis for operating; parts of the set, which shafts normally project through the cabinet front (or instrument panel in the case of automotive sets), andv have operating knobs removably secured to the projecting, ends,r said securing means being of many different types. In the servicingoi` radio receivers,V it is often necessary to replace one of these control shafts, and in order to have a complete supply for the large number of dierent` receivermodels, theA radio serviceman has had to carry a Very large number of typesY of these control shafts, having` different end portions, all ci which are substantially thesame diameter and approximately the same length, but vary considerably inthe type of end design, both for the projecting end that supports the controlknoband also the endy connected into the means being operated, such, for example, as the volume control'. Iny order to simplify the carrying of stock for thesek parts, a standard rod or shaftmaterial may bepurchased in standard lengths and. when a control shaftis desired,1 the rod may be cut to the proper length and provided with the necessary ends to answer the needs of the particular set.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide means for supporting stock material so that it may be easily cut to the desired form.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a master xture to hold stock for fabricating purposes.

It is a still further object o1' my invention to provide a master xture in which the rough stock may be held in several diierent positions so that it may be easily cut to a desired form.

With these and other objects in View which will become apparent as the specication proceeds, my invention will be best understood by reference to the following specification and claims and the illustrations in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the master iixture ofmy invention.

Figure 2 is a top view with parts broken awayl andshown in section of the same.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3--31 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 illustrates a group of different types ofv control rodsisuch asV can be made with my invention. Q

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, there is shown therein a substantially C- shaped base member 2, adaptedl to be clamped to any suitable supporting means, such asa bench. The upperporticn l! of thisbase is heavily built and is adaptedI to seat on the supporti.

The spaced arm 6 -carries a threaded clamping means 8 at right angles-thereto, which isadapted to clamp onto the lower portion of the supporting member.Y The; upper arm 4 is adapted to carry a transverse backing clampV lil which is securedf to the member 4 in any suitable manner, such asby cap screws l2as best; shown in Figure 2, and' aligning pins I4 properly, position thistransverse backing` clamp. at. theV proper' location. l y The, centralv portion of the C-clampk 2 is: provided with two spaced outstanding ears I6 between which is adapted to be pivotally mounted a, T-shaped clamping member i8, the lower portion of which carries. a screw threaded thumb screw 20 adapted to project through the T-shaped clamping member and engagethe surface of the base 2, thus forcing the entire T-clamp. about' its pivot 22 toA holdA the work.. Both the backing cla-mp I!! and the upper section 24 of the cooperating T-shaped clamping member I8' are provided with a serieslof transverse aligned slots 2t, 28, 3l). and 3,2', which act as guiding means, for .a hacksaw blade.` 'Bhe backingy clampingk means, i's. likewise provided' adjacent certain of these slots with V-notches at different positions with respect to the axis of the slots, as best shown in the top view, Figure 2. For example, the V-notch 21 associated with slot 28 has its central axis coincidental with that of the slot, while in respect to slot 30 the V-notch 34 associated therewith is considerably to one side and in slot 32 the V- notch 36 is even further to one Side of the center line of the slot. It will thus be evident that when a rod is clamped vertically in V-notch 21, with its upper end in alignment with the upper surface of the clamping jaws, that by sawing downA through the slot 28, a central slot will be provided in the end of the rod, as shown at 2|, Figure 4, whereas if the rod is applied to and clamped in V-slot y313, the majority of one side of the rods end will be cut off, and if the rod atrasos is then turned around 180 and again cut, only a thin tongue will remain in the middle of the rod end, as shown at 23, Figure 4. Slot 36 will, of course, support the rod so that only a very small part will be taken from the edge and the center tongue will be substantially thick. This could be used for providing a small flattened surface for a set screw. 'I'he backing clamp member I0 is also provided with a longitudinal V-slot 38, in which the rod may be horizontally positioned and clamped, and then by sawing through slot 36, then rod will be cut off to the proper length.

It will thus be evident that by using my masterfixture almost any kind or combination of rod end may be provided from a slightly fiattened surface for set screw engagement to thin tongued members or slotted ends. In the case of the latter, the outside of the slotted end portion isr usually roughened or knurled, as shown at 25, Figure 4, so that the knob will have better engagement. My fixture is also provided with means for knurling the ends. It will be noted that the back portion 4 is relatively heavily built so as to form a type of anvil, and in this portion there is provided a vertical opening 46 having a relatively large diameter in the upper portion and a smaller one 42 in the lower. A lower jaw 44 is adapted to fit into the 1ower portion, seat on the change in diameter section, and be clamped therein by a set screw 46. The upper part of this cylindrical member carries approximately onehalf diameter of a toothed section 48, which is of the approximate diameter of the shaft being fabricated. A mating cylindrical section 59 is adapted to slide up and down in the upper portion of the opening 40 and is retained against excessive movement by set screw 52, the end of which projects into a slot 54 in the side of the member 50. The lower end of this member 50 has a mating section 56 providing the other half of the toothed section for knurling a complete circumference. The upper portion of this member 50 is provided with a knurled head so that the operator may manually lift this section to insert the end of the control rod between the two jaws 56, 48. The upper member is then lowered and a slight tap on the head 58 with a hammer will knurl or dig into the circumference of the rod end, An opening 60, through the side of the base 4, is provided to give access to this knurling mechanism and an adjustable limit stop 6 I.

It will thus be evident that many types of rod ends may be quickly and readily made with this master fixture, such as those various types shown in Figure 4, and, of course, any combinations of these, so that a serviceman with my fixture may keep in stock only rod or bar stock, and yet quickly make a control shaft of any type for radio re- 4 ceivers or any other type of apparatus in which control shafts. are used.

I claim:

1. In a clamping fixture, a plurality of relatively movable jaw means having a series of generally transverse slots spaced axially with relation to the jaws and having, adjacenta portion of the slots therein, geometrical recesses whose axes are located in various positions with respect to the central planes of the associated slots.

l2. In a clamping member, a base, a jaw member rigidly secured to said base, said jaw having a longitudinal clamping groove extending the length of the clamping face and a plurality of generally transverse tool-guiding slots angularly arranged relative to said longitudinal groove, a second jaw pivotally mounted on said base movable with respect to the first for clamping purposes and having slots in alignment with those in the first jaw, said first jaw having a series of V-shaped recesses adjacent the slots therein and having different off-center relation with respect thereto, and screw means for clamping the two jaws together. v

3. In a clamping fixture, a pair of' relatively movable jaws, one of said jaws provided with a series of generally transverse slots in one face and having, 'in its clamping face adjacent the ends of the slots, a series of clamping recesses which are located at varying displaced positions with respect to the central planes of the associated slots, the other of said jaws having a series of slots aligned with the slots in said first mentioned jaw.

4. In a clamping xture, a base portion, a jaw member rigidly secured to said base provided with a plurality of generally transverse slots and having a series of clamping recesses. in its clamping face and associated with said slots, said recesses being located at various distances from the central planes of the respective associated slots, a second jaw member movably mounted on said base portion for clamping relation with said first jaw member and having a plurality of slots in alignment with the slots in the first jaw member, and screw means to clamp the jaws together.

VERNON L. WALKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,291,666 Wachowitz Aug. 4, 1942 2,459,910 Alvin Jan. 25, 1949 

